He says the change could reduce country patients' access to treatment.

"The suppliers of this drug are not going to get their money back, they're therefore going to say either at the supplier level or at the pharmacist level or at the chemotherapy unit level, they're going to say 'we cannot afford to prescribe this drug'," he said.

A spokesman for Health Minister Nicola Roxon says two companies have indicated they can supply the chemotherapy drugs in the exact amounts for each patient.

He says the companies can deliver the drugs to patients in remote areas within a 48-hour time frame.

He says the Budget measure will not compromise patient care and the money saved will go towards other medicines patients actually require.

Moscow's words and actions — including the alleged poisoning of a former spy — are not the results of random aggression but rather fall into distinct patterns that can help us anticipate Russia's next moves under Vladimir Putin.